Highway guard



July 27, 1937. w. F. SCHULZ HIGHWAY GUARD Filed Nov. 2. 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Walterrm'chwI/z,

Patented July 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,088,001 HIGHWAYGUARD Walter F. Schulz, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to Truscon SteelCompany, Youngstown, Ohio, a

corporation of Michigan 'Application November 2, 1935, Serial No. 48,011

Claims.

This invention relates to an impact absorbing member adapted to be usedsingly or in multiple as a guard rail wherever automotive vehicles maybe used or stored to minimize property damage.

To that end the invention contemplates a novel guard strip havingspecial features of con-v struction which render the same of specialutility the facility with which they may be repaired in case-ofextraordinary damage. In that connection, one of the importantconsiderationsis to provide a sheet steel strip which will not onlyreadily yield under impact but will also deflect the vehicle back to aposition or course of safety and at the same time return to normalposition after the blow has been delivered. Various expedients have beenheretofore resorted to for tensioning a strip or guard rail eitherbetween individual posts or between the end posts or socalled "dead-men.While these types of devices are more or less efficient and reliablyfunction under themost rigid service conditions, nevertheless, it isdesirable to simplify the constructionnot only to effect greater economyin manufacture but likewise to save labor and material 1 installation.

Accordingly, the present invention has primarily in view, a simple andpractical type of guard strip which may be mounted on suitable supports,and which has the distinctly advantageous feature of carrying therewithits own tensioning means so that it may not only more adequately absorbthe shock of impact but will more quickly and effectively recuperateafter being subjectedto a blow. In its general aspect, the inventionincludes a guard strip having an ofisettensioning portion or portionswhich tend to elongate when the face of the strip is subjected toimpact, thereby not only permitting the strip to quickly yield, but atthe same time placing the said laterally projecting portion underincreasing tension so that after the load or impact has been removed,the body of the strip will be quickly brought or drawn back to normalcondition. v

A'further object of the invention is to provide a guardstrip having anintegral tensioning portion which has the advantage of enabling thetensioning means to be incorporated in the strip by-subjecting the sameto a simple mechanical operation which gives the offset portions of thestrip the desiredset to pre-dispose the metal thereof in such a way thatthe deformations tend to flatten out when the strip is subjected toimpact, thereby placing the deformed portions under tension which willcause the strip to quickly recuperate when the force of the impact isrelieved. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a guard strip which hasa greater elastic limit than a flat strip, thereby avoiding rupture,under extraordinary impact while at the same time tending to bring thestrip back to normal condition as previously indicated.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consistsin the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement ofparts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a strip embodying the presentimprovements used in a highway guard.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail elevation of a pair of interconnectedstrips.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the construction shown-in Figure '2.

Figure 4 is a vertical crosssectional view taken on the line 4-4 ofFigure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the strip lookingat the same from the rear.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which aninstalled strip yields or under stress. 1 Similar reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of thedrawings;

According to the example chosen to illustrate the application of theinvention to one of its uses, the novel strip sections A are shown asinterconnected to provide a continuous guard rail whose opposite endsare anchored as at B to the end posts or dead men 0 while theintermediate portions of the rail, composed of the several strips, aresupported by the posts D and the brackets E. The brackets E may be ofany suitable type, such for example as that shown in my copendingapplication Serial No. 25,491, filed June 7, 1935 and the end strip ofthe rail may be secured to the end posts C by suitable tie rods Cwithout the necessity of using coil or other springs since eachindividual strip comprising the rail embodies or includes its owntensioning means, and the entire installation is orginally set up undertension throughout, that is from one extremity to the other.

The brackets E on intermediate posts preferably include yielding armsfor supporting the strip and the entire bracket is so mounted on thepost as to have a limited shiftable or sliding movement in a horizontaldirection across the face of the post' not only to better adjust thestrip to change in length due to temperature variation but also toassist in distributing the force of the impact throughout the rail andto the end posts.

Referring particularly to the individual strips, it will be observedthat each includes a body portion I which presents a smooth outer impactface intended to be disposed toward the approaching vehicle while aportion of the strip is offset or vdeflected rearwardly to providethetensioning flange 2. In the example shown, the strips are providedwith opposite tensioning flanges extending along the margins of thestrip so that the entire'strip partakes of a channel shaped formation aswill be apparent from Figure 4. The tensioning elements 2 are preferablyformed integrally with the body I and consist of a plurality of archeddeformations 3 which constitute a plurality of individual springtensioning sections extending throughout the. length of the strip. Inpractice, the strip is formed into substantially channel shape toprovide the offset flanges 2 and then the flanges are subjected to adeforming operation by means of rolls or dies while the metal is eitherhot or cold to produce the sinuous flange formations including thepreformed individual spring sections referred to. By deflecting themetal of the flanges into the arched or substantially fluted formationshown, it will be apparent that each section will have a tendency tonormally assume the arched or bowed formation referred to, but when thebody I of the strip is subjected to impact, thereby to become flexed onan are between the brackets or supports, the spring sections 3 willyield along with the body of the strip and tend to flatten out; but,because they are in tension'when under stress, as soon as the force ofthe impact is removed, the plurality ofspring sections will tend tocontract and thus pull the body of the strip back to normal position.Moreover, while the strip is being subjected to impact, it will beapparent that the various spring sections give added resiliency orstrength to the strip tending to counteract the force of the impact andpush the vehicle back to safety.

In assembling the strips into guard rail formation, the end portions areplaced in substantially telescopic relation so as to overlap preferablyin the location of the brackets E. Both ends of each strip are providedwith spaced pairs of longitudinally oval openings 4-4 which may bebrought into registry to receive the bolts or fastenings 5 for not onlyinterconnecting the strips but also mounting them on the brackets. Thepurpose of the oval or elongated holes 4 is to permit suff cienttolerance in a vertical direction to enable the interconnected strips toassume a relatively angular relation in a general horizontal' directionto permit the rail to follow the undulations of the roadside.

The last strip in the rail, that is the strip in each end thereof, mayhave its outer extremity equipped with a channel or equivalent member 6,preferably perforated at suitable locations to receive the tie rods Cwhich are connected to the end posts as previously referred to. When thestrips are assembled in guard rail formation and installed for service,all of the strips constituting the guard rail are placed under tensionfrom the end posts. In other words, the entire guard rail comprising theinterconnected strips A is placed under tension by tightening the nutson the tie rods C so that the entire guard rail assumes thecharacteristics of continuous elastic band. When the installation ismade, due consideration is given to the temperature conditionsprevailing at the time, the original tension being sufficient to takecare of average seasonal temperature variations and consequentvariations in the length of the strip. Roughly, the strips of theindivid- .ual guard rails are tensioned originally between words isalways stretched or elongated, not only to provide for changes in lengthof the strip due to temperature changes, but also to provide rebound orreflex resilience responsive to impact.

When the individual strips are subjected to impact, they will yield,according to the force of the impact on an arc of relatively long radiusbecause the supporting posts are usually placed on an average of sixteenfeet apart. Therefore, the vehicle will be deflected back to a safeposition along a gradually curved surface due to the arc of long radiuspreviously referred to, generated at the time of impact. As the blow isdelivered to the individual strip, the individual spring sections areelongated in proportion to the intensity of the impact, the tensioningwave on the successive spring sections generating progressively from thebody of the strip toward the outer edge portion of the flange 2. Withthe type of steel sheet ordinarily used, the deflection of the strip mayhave an average maximum deflection of approximately 18 inches, but inevery case, the structure is designed so that the yield point of themetal is not reached when the sinuous flange 2 is stretched to asubstantially straight line.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present strip provides,in itself, an eiflcient elastic member constitutirg a guard having itsown tensioning means, for example, the sinuous flange or flanges 2 whoseindividual sections store up energy when a blow is imposed on the stripdue to being stretched, and which contract when the blow or impact isrelieved to return the stress back to normal position. throughout itslength.

Moreover, due to the fact that with the present construction the stripscan be made longer than ber adapted to be supported at its ends,including a metallic strip-like body having an impact refrom the spiritof the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. A self-recuperating impact absorbing member adapted to be supportedat its ends, including a metallic strip-like body having an impactreceiving face and carrying tensioning means bent backwardly from alongitudinal edge. and effective on deformation of the body by a blowimposed on said impact receiving face between the ends of the strip tobring the body back to its normal plane.

2. A self-recuperating impact absorbing memceiving face and carryingintegral spring means bent backwardly therefrom and effective upondeformation of the body by a blow imposed on the said impact receivingface to bring the body back to its normal plane.

3. A self-recuperatingimpact absorbing member adapted to be supported atits ends, including, a normally plane strip-like body having an impactreceiving face and carrying an integral deformed elastic flangeeffective upon deformation of the body by a blow imposed on the impactface thereof to bring the body back to its normal plane.

4. A self-recuperating impact absorbing member adapted to be supportedat its ends, including a metallic strip-like body having a normal planereceiving face and also having a laterally projectpact receiving facethereof to bring the body back to its normal plane.

5. An impact absorbing guard comprising spaced supports and a yieldableguard strip carried by said supports and having a laterally projectingtensioning portion, said tensioning portion comprising a series ofspring tensioning sections.

6. An impact receiving guard comprising spaced supports and a yieldableguard strip of substantially channel shape cross .section, the sides ofthe channel being deformed to provide a plurality of tensioning portionswhich elongate under stress due to impact imposed on the face of thestrip and contract on removal of impact to automatically return thestrip to normal position.

'7. A guard strip including a body having a front impact receiving faceand integral self-ad justing continuous spring means at the rear face ofthe strip.

8. A self-recuperating strip for highway guards and the like comprisinga yieldable body having a portion projecting therefrom deformed 'to pro-'duce a series of spring tensioning sections of substantially archedformation, thereby providing an elastic member whose total initiallength is greatrail for tensioning the same throughout its eni u tirelength. A

10. A highway guard comprising a continuous elastic guard rail having animpact face and normally held throughout its entire length underpredetermined stress to provide tension for per mitting the rail toexpand and contract under varying temperature conditions and also havinga continuous elastic flange portion at rightanglesto said impactface toprovide reflex resilience responsive to impact.

WALTER F. SCHULZ.

